Flames of Destiny
by MurdocsAngel
Summary: While training his Pokemon, Ash disappears, causing ripples in the balance of nature...
1. 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

Summary: Ash discovers that his destiny is far greater than anyone ever imagined.

A/N: This is my first Pokemon fic, and it's something that's been running around in my head for a while. I haven't seen any of the Advance show past the episode where May wins the Fallarbor Town Pokemon Contest, so this could probably be considered AU after that.

Flames of Destiny

Flames rose high into the air, dark smoking marring the otherwise perfectly blue sky. It had been two days, but still the fire burned, as hot as when the inferno had first begun. Amazingly enough, only the tower--the tall ediface that had been built out of respect for the great bird pokemon Ho-oh--remained on fire. The rest of Ecruteak had been put out almost immediately.

Acrid smoke drifted towards Hikari's vantage point, and he had to cover his nose and mouth with the tattered and burnt sleeves of his novice robes. He should leave, he knew, but couldn't. Three pokemon had escaped--strange and never before seen, yes--but escaped they had. His master could have escaped too. Had to have escaped.

Hikari choked on a sob that he refused to release. Crying now would only admit defeat--and he knew his kind master was still alive. Ho-oh surely wouldn't have taken him, not when he had spent so much time with the bird, speaking with it and returning with the translation. No, his master was probably still down in the city, helping to evacuate survivors--despite the burning tin tower. 

"You seem sad," a soft voice noted from behind him.

Hikari whirled around, having not heard anyone come up and stared at the man with ebony hair pulled back at the nape of his neck and wearing the black cloak of a Master Swordsman. His face was young, though the golden brown eyes showed a weariness and wisdome that didn't match his youthful appearence. Hikari had never seen such a wonderful sight in all his life.

"Master!" he cried, launching himself at the figure, "You're...." he fell flat on his face, leaves and sticks leaving scratch marks, "...okay?"

On closer inspection, Hikari could see that the master was partially transparent. A choking sort of pain filled his chest, and the tears that he had held back for so long in the hope that everything would turn out all right filled his eyes and ran unchecked down his cheeks. He pulled his knees up to his chest, burying his face from sight as sobs racked his small body.

Finally, the fit subsided, and he gasped for breath before looking up into the tragic features of his master. "Why?" he whispered, "why were you taken? And why are you here now?"

The figure knelt beside him, reaching out as though to comfort, but Hikari flinched away, and he drew back his hands, folding them on his knees. "I...have something to ask of you, Hikari. And it will be no easy task." The ghost looked up and over at the blazing tower, and his demeanor grew even more sorrowful. "What happened this past week has proven that man and pokemon are not yet ready to work with each other. Not in the way that Ho-oh intended."

"But Master..." Hikari protested, "It was just a few...." his voice stopped before he could say the word rebels at a sudden fire in his master's eyes.

"No," the man said harshly, shaking his head, "It was not. Those people, the people of that city and others were ready to believe that Ho-oh and all pokemon intend to one day destroy human kind. And the pokemon...many firmly believe that humans will one day destroy them." Again, the sad look returned to his face. "This thing, this war, it must never be repeated. Because if it is, then one of those two outcomes will be your great-grandchildren's future."

Hikari swallowed and averted his gaze as he imagined the horror of that prediction. Then he looked back at his master. "Ho-oh is supposed to bring peace," he said, "as you told us all when you began your conversations with it. It stopped this war and saved three pokemon." Even if it couldn't save you. Hikari left that thought unspoken though.

The ghost sighed, a lengthy, weary sigh. "What Ho-oh did was out of fear and desparation. Those pokemon would not have needed saving had I...it simply thought out the consequences of its actions. Hikari, I don't have much more time, even now my strength is fading."

The ghost was indeed becoming more transparent as he spoke. "You must never let this happen the people of Ecruteak that Ho-oh will return when man and pokemon work together as one. Teach your children the meaning of peace, and the values of pokemon. Teach them to be kind to the creatures, to treat them as family. Watch for Suicune of the north wind, Entei of the volcano, and Raiku of the storm."

"Master!" Hikari cried as the ghost faded further, "Will Ho-oh return one day? Will he? Master, don't leave me! I don't know what to do! Ash! Ash please!"

-------------------------------------------------

Ash Ketchum jerked awake and stared blearily at the dying embers of the campfire. Ever since Morty had told him the legend of Ho-oh, he'd been having dreams like that, intermittantly. That one though, was always the most clear, and always left him with a feeling of foreboding that he couldn't understand.

He looked around at his companions to make sure his dream hadn't awakened them. Brock was snoring and muttering something about Jenny. Max was curled up, finger in his mouth and smiling as he slept and May was sprawled on top of her sleeping bag, sleeping peacefully.

"Pikapi," Pikachu sleepily questioned. It was still curled on Ash's pillow where it had fallen asleep, but its ears stood alert as it waited for its question to be answered.

"Just a bad dream, Pikachu," Ash answered, reaching up to pet the yellow rodent between its ears. Pikachu chaaed in satisfaction and then bounded into his lap to be petted more fully. Ash grinned and complied, his fingers massaging the soft, supple fur, and then attending to the red cheek pouches that contained the electric type's element.

It seemed like so long ago that he had first set out on his journey to become the greatest Pokemon Master ever. Pikachu hadn't even liked him all that much, refusing to get in its pokeball and generally anything that Ash asked of it. They'd come a long way since those days, almost as if seeing that strange golden, sparkling pokemon had set their feet on the path of destiny. Together, they had been in three tournaments, winning one and placing high in the other two. They had saved the world.

Ash's grin slowly faded as fragments of the dream returned. He could almost smell the acrid smoke of the burning tower, but knew that it probably came from the dying campfire and his imagination. Hikari's last question still rang through his mind, burning his ears. "Will Ho-oh return one day?" 

Then Ash laughed. He was being silly. It had simply been a dream brought on by the excitement of the day before. He had won his fourth badge in the Hoenn league, and was still on an adrenaline high from the heated battle. He always had that particular scene in his head after winning a big match like that. The other visions were more innocuous and vague.

"Pika!" the yellow rodent cried as Ash accidentally rubbed the fur in the wrong direction in his distraction.

Ash shook his head quickly. "Waaa! Sorry Pikachu, I didn't mean to, don't..."

Electricity sparked at its cheeks, and its eyes were narrowed dangerously. Ash's plea was too late to stop it though, and it released a powerful thundershock, that inadvertantly hit their sleeping companions.

"Waaa! Pikachu, what'd you do that for!" Max cried, still smoldering from the attack.

"Yeah, I was having the most amazing dream," Brock said, his voice sad.

"And I was sleeping," May accused, rubbing her hair, futily trying to get it to lay down. The static from the attack was still high though.

Pikachu had the grace to look sheepish, and Ash put his hand behind his head, laughing in apology. "Heh, sorry about that guys."

"That's okay," May said cheerfully, jumping up. "It's morning anyway."

"Speak for yourself," Max muttered, but stood up anyway. "Why are you so happy this morning, May?"

"Why shouldn't I be happy, Max! The sky is blue, the air is clean, the birds are singing..."

"Okay, okay, we get it," Max held up his hands in supplication, "could you go be cheerful somewhere else though?"

Ash grinned as the two siblings began arguing before standing and stretching, the dream forgotten in the normal routine. Then he took three pokeballs from his waist and released the pokemon from within. A small blue bird with a red breast flew up and landed on his shoulder, while a green lizard with protruding yellow eyes and a crab like water pokemon chased each other around. Ash's grin grew wider as he watched them.

"Okay guys," he asked, "Ready for some training?"

The four pokemon, Pikachu included, all sounded their willingness to this idea and they walked off into the forest, leaving Brock behind to deal with the squabbling sister and brother.

"Breakfast will be ready in an hour," the squinty eyed older boy called after him.

Ash acknowledged him with a wave of his, before catching up to his pokemon.

The forest wasn't as dense as some he'd been in, and volcanic ash from Mt. Chimney still rained down every once in a while, but it was nice enough. The small stream they had camped beside, widened and then emptied into a small lake. Corphish, clicked its claws in anticipation and Ash laughingly let it go jump in the water. It had been instrumental in his defeat of Flannery's fire type pokemon, so it definitely deserved some R n' R.

"Okay, Treeko, Taillow, Pikachu," each of the pokemon looked up at him expectantly as he called their names, "Let's see how long we can stay underwater."

"Pika!" Pikachu cried and took off at a run to jump into the lake, coming up beside Corphish and spitting water out.

Taillow fluttered to the edge of the lake to await its trainer, and Treeko followed Ash at a more sedate pace. Ash shelled off his shirt, jeans, shoes and socks, and then jumped into the lake, nearly hitting both Corphish and Pikachu. Treeko, eased itself into the water, Taillow following closely.

"Ready guys?" There was a chorus of pokemon speech, agreement all around. "Okay, on three, we're gonna dive and see how long we can resist coming back up for air. One. Two. Three!"

As he finished the word three, they all dove beneath the surface of the lake. Ash swam as far as he could, noting that the lake was a lot clearer than he'd expected. Normally there was mud and sediment obscuring his vision, especially after all the splashing they had been doing. But he could see as if through thick glass.

Taillow, a flying type swam back up to the surface before any of the other pokemon. Treeko and Pikachu however, stayed with Ash until his own lungs began to feel as though they were on fire. He signaled to the others that he was heading up, and they nodded agreement, heading up themselves. He grinned and started to follow them, when something snaked around his leg, catching him and effectively stopping him from surfacing.

Bubbles escaped his mouth as he struggled against whatever it was, his hands beating at the tentacle like vine. He looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the attack, but couldn't see anything. Then, a red, pulsating light filled his vision, and he fell unconscious.

tbc..... 


	2. 2

A cool breeze drifted in off the official lake of the Indigo Plateau, ruffling the spiky red hair of a tall figure in a black cape as he stood watching the red water type pokemon. Gyrados, Lance Knight's latest capture, was staring off into the distance, as though it sensed something. The pokemon was making a strange keening sound that Lance had never heard that particular dragon/water type utter.

"Have you ever seen anything like it, Agatha?" Lance asked the old woman standing by his side.

The ghost trainer tilted her head curiously and watched the pokemon before nodding slowly. "I have. Once. It's the sort of thing a pokemon will do when it's become bonded with its trainer. The bond is so strong that, even when apart, trainer and pokemon can sense what's going on with each other. But," she glanced over at him, "it's the sort of bond that takes many years to encourage and grow."

Lance frowned, still as confused as before he'd asked the question. "This gyrados has never had a trainer, except for me..." his voice trailed off as he was reminded of how he had been able to acquire the strong dragon. But no, that boy, Ash, hadn't been its trainer. Just some kid trying to make friends with a raging beast. Shaking his head, he held up the pokemon's pokeball and recalled it. It disappeared inside with a flash of red light.

"Well, in any case I think I'm going to give it a rest from training," he said firmly, "it's been doing so well, it deserves one."

"Strange things are in the air," Agatha murmured, "Or so Gengar tells me."

Lance paused in the act of drawing out one of his other pokeballs and stared at the old woman. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure. So far, none of the other pokemon seem to have sensed it, except maybe that gyrados of yours."

The wisened face gazed off into the distance, as though seeing something that only she could. Lance shifted uncomfortably. The last time that had happened, there had been a shift in the elemental balance of the world so large it had caused it the weather all over the world to go haywire, snowing when it shouldn't, unexpected tornadoes, et cetera. And the wild pokemon had, as one taken off, charging towards a nearly forgotten island in the Orange Islands.

The League had been hardpressed to keep the damage of that time to a minimum as panicked trainers had overrun pokemon centers nearly as mobs. Then, after a day, everything had returned to normal, as though it hadn't happened. Lance and other members of his squad had been certain that Team Rocket was responsible for the incident, but like in many other events had no proof.

Agatha, Bruno and Prima though, had other ideas. Prima had shown him an old legend she had grown up with while living in the Orange Islands, a legend that he'd already learned of. Something about the titans of fire, ice and lightning fighting and a guardian and a chosen one. Lance was never one to put much stock into those things. He believed in the here and now, and his pokemon.

No, Team Rocket was somehow behind all that, and when Lance figured out how, that would just be one more piece of evidence in the already large stockpile.

Bringing himself back to the here and now, Lance noted that Agatha was already walking down the path towards the Plateau, and official League Headquarters. He took his hand from the pokeball at his waist and hurried to catch up with her surprisingly fast pace. Many trainers had failed miserably in battle with this old woman because of her seemingly staid ways. 

"What does Gengar tell you, Agatha?" Lance asked, though he didn't really believe the woman could speak with the pokemon. Sure there was a bond there, but, humans and pokemon were two separate creations and the barriers that separated them were huge. 

Unless you counted the baby that had hatched from an egg. Lance shook his head, pushing that thought aside. Again, Team Rocket had done something that was completely against nature with that one. But, the Rocket who had caught it, had died along with it--both falling to their deaths....

"That change is coming," Agatha supplied, bringing him out of the painful memory, "more than that, I couldn't figure out. I contacted my grandson in Ecruteak...he says the ghost pokemon there are acting the same."

Morty, the gym leader of the Ecruteak City Gym, was her grandson, and had seemed to be a stable indidual if you looked past his obsession with Ho-oh. Lance couldn't help but grin.

"Maybe it'll be a change for the better," he suggested, making Agatha raise her eyebrows. She knew he was a skeptic when it came to things like that. "Anyway, we've got to..." his voice trailed off as a young officer came running up the path.

John, having just barely passed his exams two weeks ago, panted as he stood in front of the two Elite Trainers. "Lance, Agatha," he said, still breathing heavily, "Team Rocket...Jewel Sisters...Hoenn..."

Lance froze at the words "Jewel Sisters", his insides filling with ice, as Agatha admonished the young man to slow down and catch his breath. Ruby and Sapphire were two of Team Rocket's top agents, but they hadn't been seen in fourteen years. Not since the death of the third member of their group, Diamond.

The Jewel Sisters, as they called themselves, weren't actually related. Ruby had hair of flaming red and always used fire types. Sapphire had deep blue eyes and always used water types. And Diamond....she had had platinum hair and used whatever type suited her at the time. They had been the most successful trio of thieves Team Rocket had ever produced, and the deadliest.

"....some kind of amulet, rumored to be connected in some way to the legendary bird Ho-oh," Lance came back to the present in time to hear John say.

Agatha was nodding. "Right, it'll probably be too late, but we'll send someone out there anyway, just to do an investigation."

"I'll go, Dragonite's the fastest flier we have that can carry a person," Lance offered, even though he had no clue where he was going. If the Jewel Sister's were involved, innocent people could get hurt--or killed. "Where to again?"

Agatha frowned and looked at him. "I think it would be best if..." she stopped at the look on his face and sighed. "Very well, it's in the Hoenn region, just south of Lavaridge. A small pond. Be careful Lance."

Lance was already astride his giant dragon pokemon, but he nodded his acknowledgment of her caution before taking off into the skies. 


	3. 3

Time moved slowly for those who lived forever. Memories of past actions, whether evil, good or somewhere in between faded to a dream-like state, drifting on the currents of the subconscious, similar to the way a water creature drifted the currents of the ocean. Kay remembered that. Always she was banned to the depths, no matter how many times they repeated the Re-birth.

As she stood on the sandy shore, she tried to recall the last time she'd been human. The last time she'd walked, rather than swam. That memory too had faded as the years passed. She walked slowly down the beach, reveling in the feel of the sand beneath her bare feet. She would cherish the memories this time, strengthen for the long wait in the depths.

Kay had no doubts that she would be banished again, because she knew they would fail. They always failed. No matter how many times they repeated the Re-birth.

Because they had forgotten their purpose. It too had drifted away with the currents of time.

Her eyes fell upon a sleeping figure. Her brother, Gi. She smiled and knelt beside him.

"It is time for the Teaching, Brother Gi," she murmured.

The red headed boy blinked uncertainly into the blinding light of the sun before nodding with a sigh. He too knew the futility of this.

They sat there for long moments, both wanting to remember this, not wanting to return to the depths where they would again be enemies--Land and Sea at war.

Then Gi gasped and sat up straight, the languidity of before gone. "He's gone..."

Kay gasped as she felt it too.

On the other side of the world, two mysterious pokemon keened in surprise and dismay. Silver looked at his parents questioningly, and whimpered, wondering what they were so sad about.

High above a village in Johto, highlighted by the moon, another pokemon frowned and stared off into the distance. The boy, Ash, ever present in his subconscious had disappeared. Death? Mewtwo looked down at the sleeping village. That would be unacceptable.

Bulbasaur woke up with a jerk, and looked around. Bayleef was crying piteously and several of Ash's other pokemon were shifting around uneasily. Something had happened to their friend and trainer. Bulbasaur waddled off to find Professor Oak.

---------------------

Cassidy scowled as the alarm inside the small submarine began ringing shrilly, indicating that there was resistance on the line. The blond turned to her green haired companion who was attempting to compensate.

"Must have caught on a rock or something," Butch guessed in his scratchy voice, "Or a pokemon."

"Well get rid of it, whatever it is!" Cassidy ordered, her eyes narrowed in anger, "those two hoighty toighty Rocket Elites will kick our butts if we don't bring that amulet back."

Butch shrugged slightly. It was a well known fact that Cassidy grew jealous of any Rocket member that was more beautiful than she was and had a better position. Still, that's why they had agreed to become the Jewel Sister's apprentices. Team Rocket assassins were paid big bucks, especially since they were rarely ever sent on stupid missions like this.

"We don't even know if it's here, Cass," he reasoned, "for all we know it could simply be a rock that's been sitting here for centuries."

They had special sensors fitted to the submarine, that were able to tell the age of an object within two hours. That was the first drawback, the amount of time they had to sit around and wait as they passed over each and every bump that didn't move in the lake. The second drawback was that they couldn't see outside.

"I don't care! Just reel it in and lets get going!" Cassidy was on the verge of a temper tantrum, and from experience Butch knew that it wasn't going to be pretty.

So, he quickly adjusted the line tension and began pulling against the resistance. At first, it looked as though the extra object they'd snagged was going to win the struggle, but then slowly and surely the line began dragging back towards the submarine. Butch grinned and gave Cassidy the thumbs up. The woman relaxed at this and even smiled back.

Of course, as the laws of the universe dictated--at least it had for them lately--when things started going right, they were inevitably going to go wrong. The proximity alarms rang loud and unexpected, just before a strange spike of energy blasted the sub's engines and sent it soaring up out of the water.

It hit the ground and slid several feet before crashing into a pomeg berry tree. Shaken and bruised, Butch clambored out of the wreckage and looked around. Cassidy was standing straight up, her blond hair singed and standing up on end. Her face was red, and a vein was pulsing at her temple. Butch scrambled to his feet and walked over to see what she was staring at.

Four pokemon stood bristling and ready to fight, three that the Johto and Kanto bred Rockets didn't recognize. The fourth was a very familiar yellow furred pikachu. Butch practically groaned as he looked around for the brats that owned these pokemon, reaching automatically for the pokeball at his waist. However, he was stopped by an hand on his arm.

"The brats aren't around," Cassidy said, her eyes sparkling, "let's teach them what it means to mess with Team Rocket." 

Before either of them could react however, the pikachu let loose with a shocking attack, managing to singe the already bruised and battered bodies of the two Team Rocket goons. Butch howled with anger and tossed the pokeball. In a flash of red a zangoose appeared, all four feet on the ground and ready to attack.

"Go Zangoose, use quick attack!" Butch ordered. The normal type pokemon rushed at the four, knocking the unknown grass type aside. Butch grinned and cheered, glad he had taken the time to catch the pokemon.

The pikachu growled low in its throat and came back with a quick attack of its own. Far more powerful than Zangoose, the attack caused the cat-like pokemon to be flung back into a tree, effectively knocking it out. Butch scowled and reached for the other pokeball that wasn't there.

Cursing, he turned to go back to the sub to get the object that must have been dropped in the crash, when the sound of thudding bodies made him stop. He looked back at the battle scene and gaped. The four pokemon lay on the ground, blood pooling around them with Cassidy standing over them, a triumphant, yet slightly insane, grin on her face and a gun, silencer on, in her hand.

"That'll teach those brats," she told him, before walking calmly over to the sub and picking up a small wooden box that still dripped water, from the slackened line and began walking in the direction the Jewel Sisters had set up their camp.

---------------------------

A strange, musty scent mixed with the smell of something sweet filled the air, making Ash's nostrils twitch. Breathing in deeply, he opened his eyes slowly and found himself looking up the nose of an unknown pokemon. It must not have been a threat though, or Pikachu would have woken him. 

Ash sat up groggily, but then cried out as a sharp pain lanced through his right hand. The creature snorted and backed up a few paces, its hooves making small indentations in the soft dirt he was lying in. Tears filled Ash's eyes and he brought the hand up for closer inspection, expecting to find a cut or a thorn, or something else along those lines.

What he saw made him blink several times through the salty droplets so that he could make sure his vision wasn't playing tricks on him. However, the strange mark was still emprinted on his hand, as though burned on. Fitting since the center lines depicted a flame. Ash frowned as the pain subsided. It looked almost as though he'd been branded with a badge of some sort.

Shaking his head, he looked around to see what Brock would think of this and found his frown going even deeper when he realized that he was all alone. That wasn't the only strange thing. He could have sworn they had been camping in a forest; this place was in the middle of a large grassy plain.

And, his heart stopped at this realization, he was wearing only his underwear, and his pokemon were nowhere to be seen. Panicking, Ash jumped to his feet, making the strange pokemon jump and back up even further, its eyes wide and white with fright. Ash didn't have time to calm it down though, because he had to find his pokemon.

"Pikachu!" he called, straining his ears to hear the welcoming answer of his best friend. The first thought on his mind was Team Rocket...but why would they steal his clothes too? "Treeko! Corphish! Taillow! Where are you! Brock! May! Max!"

He repeated his calls, but soon tired, his hand throbbing with each beat of his heart. He tripped over a rock, stubbing his bare toe and fell to his knees. Tears of anguish and frustration filled his eyes and he pounded on the ground with his fists, ignoring the pain. Finally, his energy was spent, and he slumped to the ground, one cheek resting in the cool grass.

Memories slowly returned, but they only served to depress him even more. Whatever that red flash of light had been, must have transported him to this other place. He'd never see Pikachu and the others again.

Grass rustled just out of his range of vision, and he lifted his head slightly to see the new pokemon standing and staring at him. It looked almost like a rapidash, but was a reddish brown and didn't have flames for a mane and tail. Ash sat up and smiled, never one to be down in the dumps for long, holding his hand out.

"Hey there," he said, keeping his voice soft and even, "I don't have my pokedex with me, so I don't know what to call you."

The creatures ears pricked forward, curiosity evident in its expression. Ash remained where he was and waited, talking in soft low tones, telling it of his adventures--and misadventures. Slowly but surely the creature walked towards him and lowered its head. Ash grinned and gently pet the nose. The creature closed its eyes and butted his hand with its head, begging for more.

Ash couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you look like a rapidash, but I don't think I'll call you that," he murmured, scratching it between the ears, "how about...Red?" The creature made a strange whuffling noise that Ash took to be ascent and he grinned. "Okay, Red it is!"

As the moments flew by, Ash began to feel heartened once more. With this pokemon at his side, he would figure out where he was, and--after finding some new clothes--go find his friends.

tbc.... 


	4. 4

A loud crash resounded throughout the normally peaceful forest, causing Steven Stone to look up from his breakfast in surprise. He'd been searching the small wood south of Lavaridge in the hopes that he would find a rock that, as the story went, his many times great grandfather had thrown into a pond. Trainers didn't usually pass this way, or if they did they passed quickly, hurrying on to the next town. 

Carefully scooping dirt over the flames of the campfire, he made sure it was put out properly before standing and stretching the kinks out of his muscles. Then he calmly took a pokeball from the belt at his waist and released the pokemon within. Skarmory was a metal plated bird, that despite its looks, was quite fast. It gazed at its trainer expectantly, and Steven smiled.

"Go check out the forest, Sky," he ordered, "towards the northeast. I'll be right behind you." The swift pokemon would be able to detect whatever had made that noise and report back to him faster than he could explore on his own.

The silvery bird dipped its head in ascent before speeding off into the trees. Steven checked the camp again, making sure everything was in place, before following. He hadn't walked very far, when a voice called out a greeting.

"Steven, hi!"

Steven turned and then smiled warmly at the three kids who jogged up to him. "I'm guessing that crash was you guys?" he asked.

The oldest of the trio shook his head, but was still grinning. Brock, if Steven recalled the name correctly. "Nah, it was probably just Ash, training his Pokemon. Although..."

"He's late for breakfast," the youngest boy said, "and if its one thing that Ash never misses, its food!"

"Like you don't eat just as much, Max," the girl, May said with a roll of her eyes. But her eyes held concern and she glanced off into the forest. "Ash just probably got too caught up in his training to notice..."

The three friends fell silent as they joined Steven in walking towards the source of the disturbance. If it had been an attack of some kind, it must have been pretty powerful to have made a sound as loud as that. When he'd last met Ash and friends, the kid had been training to challenge Brawly, Dewford City's Gym Leader, to a rematch, and had unwittingly disturbed a nest of aron.

Still, the last time he'd chatted with his brother, the Ecruteak Gym Leader had nothing but praise for the young trainer--laced through with awe bordering on hero worship--something his calm and collected older brother had never shown, even in his obsession with the legendary Ho-oh. Just because the kid claimed to have seen Ho-oh, and had helped to return stolen goods to the Tin Tower.

"Well," Steven said after the silence stretched, "I've sent my..."

"Ska! Skaaaaar!"

It was Sky's urgent call for help. Steven reacted quickly, taking off at a dead run towards the direction it had come from, the three trainers right behind him.

When they arrived on the scene, Steven could only stare in shock. Wreckage of some kind of machinery lay burning against a pomeg berry tree, the smoke rising slowly and sinuously into the air. A pile of clothes were strewn carlessly on the ground, as though someone had stripped for a swim. And four bodies littered the ground.

The trainer, Ash, was nowhere to be found.

Sky was standing over one of the bodies, a pikachu, and nudging it gently.

"Treeko!" May called out, running to the green lizard and falling to her knees beside it. Her blue eyes were dark with emotion, "It's still alive!"

Her words spurred everyone else into action and they all took a pokemon. "So's Taillow!" Max cried, relief evident in his voice, "but just barely...its lost so much blood..." The boy ripped off a large piece of his shirt and wrapped it around the wounded pokemon, then cradled the creature to his chest.

"So has Corphish," Brock said gravely, doing the same for the crustacean pokemon, "but it too, is still alive, thank goodness."

"The pikachu is as well, probably in the same condition as the other pokemon," Steven told the others, placing his hand on the yellow rodent's head. The fur was soft and supple, in very good condition for an unevolved member of its species.

Dismissing that thought as irrelevant, he stood and pulled out a couple of super potions that he always carried on his person, even when he left his bag behind, spraying a little on the electric mouse. There was no way to determine if it worked, since blood still caked the wound making it impossible to see what had done this, but it did seem as though the creature were breathing easier.

He then moved to each of the fallen pokemon in succession, repeating the actions until all the healing liquid was gone. The Treeko had the lesser injury, merely a grazed wound in the side, however, judging by the unconscious state of the pokemon, Steven determined that whatever had been used must have been tipped in poison.

"Okay," he said, when finished, his face grim, "We're going to have to take them to the pokemon center in Lavaridge, and it's not going to be easy climbing up those ridges. On us, or the injured pokemon, but I don't see how else we're going to manage."

"I can fashion some slings to carry them in," Brock suggested sensibly, "That'll make it more comfortable on the pokemon and us."

Steven nodded. "Excellent suggestion, Brock. Let's..."

"Well I'm staying and looking for Ash!" May declared suddenly, her arms clutching the treeko a little more forcefully than was necessary, "he'd never just abandon his pokemon! Something must have happened to him!"

"Yes," Steven agreed, but then reasoned, "but we can have our other pokemon look for him while we concentrate on getting these where they can get the medical attention that they need. I'm sure Ash wouldn't want you to spend precious time looking for him when his pokemon are here, in obvious need of help."

He hated saying that, hated the look of utter helplessness and resignation that appeared in peoples' eyes when he said it. To his surprise, however, the girl just set her jaw stubbornly and nodded.

"Fine then, Beautifly, come on out!" The winged bug pokemon appeared in a flash of red and floated in the air above its trainer. "Beautifly, I want you to look for Ash! And don't stop until you've found him, or I return, okay?"

Brock called out a crobat and ordered it to do the same, concern filling his brown eyes. The young man was obviously slightly less optimistic than his companion. Max, on the other hand was cheering the pokemon on, gently holding Taillow. "Yeah! Go find Ash you two! Oh man, I wish I had a pokemon..."

A weary sigh escaped Steven. They were wasting time with this. He doubted very seriously the kid was alive. Otherwise, these pokemon would not be here now, in this condition. He glanced sharply at Sky, but before he could order it, a rush of air practically knocked them all over.

In the clearing, a large Dragonite landed and a figure wrapped in a black cloak dismounted and strode over to them. He had a shock of spiky red hair and piercing brown-almost black- eyes. Lance, dragon trainer and Leader of the Elite Four, he was also part of the Pokemon League's special forces squad, along with Steven, and other high ranking members of the League.

"Team Rocket's behind this then?" Steven asked, eliciting gasps from the three kids.

"Team Rocket's evil," Brock said, his voice sounding confused, "But even they wouldn't stoop to something as low as this..."

Lance faced the older boy and inclined his head, a grim smile playing on his lips. "Not ordinary members of Team Rocket no. But...there is a branch that specializes in things like this. Although," he stared at the wounded pokemon, "they're not usually so inept at hiding their evidence."

Then, his eyes sharpened on Brock. "Tell me, Brock," he asked, in a strange voice, "was Ash traveling with you?"

The teenager frowned a moment before reluctantly nodding. "Yeah but he's...."

"Not here," the redhead finished for him, "I can see that." Lance's eyes grew distant and he gave a short laugh. "Agatha did say that a bond could create a reaction like that."

Steven frowned and stepped forward. "Lance, we've got to get these pokemon..."

Max gasped at the sound of the famous name and stared at the dragon trainer in fascination.

"Right," Lance said decisively, "take Dragonite and..." there was a flash, and a charizard appeared in the meadow, "Charizard. They'll get you to the pokemon center faster."

"What about you?" Steven asked, brow furrowing, "You can't mean to..."

"I am." Lance's voice brooked no argument. "I've dealt with these particular members of Team Rocket before, and I know their MO. Obviously they've got a couple of apprentices who got too excited with their work when they got interrupted."

"What are you talking about? How do you already know....those two haven't been seen in fifteen years, Lance. It can't be them."

"Who else do you know who's obsessed with the Legend of Ho-oh enough to follow up a rumor that is very probably wrong?" Lance snapped, then giving Steven an apologetic glance, "that applies to Team Rocket members of course, and not to your family. Or you."

Steven shrugged that off and turned to the kids. "Okay, Brock, you and May take Charizard. Max, you're with me on Dragonite." Not waiting for any answers, he climbed aboard the pokemon. If Lance were correct, then, it was possible that Ash were still alive. The trainer would be wishing right now that he weren't though, because the Jewel Sisters were very thorough in their methods of extracting information.

Unbidden, his thoughts turned to his second oldest sibling. Diana. If their mother, a member of Team Rocket, hadn't filled the girl's head with so much poison against them all, she'd probably still be alive today. And Team Rocket would never have discovered the Stone family's greatest secret.

Shaking his head to clear it of those thoughts, he helped Max into position, then cradled the pikachu close, and ordered Dragonite to take off, Charizard following closely behind.

-------------------------------

Lance watched his pokemon rise into the air, and then disappear beyond the horizon before returning his attention to the task at hand, feeling emotionally distanced. He pulled off the pokeball that contained Gyrados and released the water dragon, knowing that the pokemon would be the best bet to find the Team Rocket's ecampment, because he was sure that they had Ash.

He had dismissed Agatha's statement before, but now realized that it was probably dead on, however it had happened.

Immediately, that strange keening sound filled the air, and Lance had to repeat himself several times before catching Gyrados' attention.

"Listen to me, I need you to find Ash," he told it, "You remember Ash, right? Find Ash Gyrados."

The pokemon just gazed at him before once more emitting the heartwrenching sound. Lance felt a chill run down his spine. That could mean only one thing, and he turned his face away from the mourning pokemon, unable to stop the tears that pricked the backs of his eyelids. It wasn't fair, that a young life could be taken like that.

Straigtening his shoulders, Lance gazed with hardened eyes into the murky depths of the forest. He would find them, and those two would pay dearly for their crimes. They wouldn't be able to escape so easily this time.


End file.
